Wideband programmable phase shifting circuit

ABSTRACT

The wideband programmable phase shifting circuitry includes a charge pump, a comparator, and a voltage reference generator block. An input signal controls the charge pump which charges and discharges a capacitor connected to an output of the charge pump. The comparator continuously compares the voltage across the capacitor with a reference voltage, ratio of V REF , which is generated by the voltage reference generator block. The voltage V REF  is generated to compensate for power supply and integration process variations. The voltage reference generator is comprised of a charge pump unit, a frequency divider unit, switches, and two capacitors. The adjusted V REF  ratio controls the comparator threshold level and hence a programmable phase difference between the input signal of the charge pump and the output signal of the comparator.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to phase shifting circuitry. More specifically, the present invention relates to a phase shifter that can be adjusted digitally, precisely, and independently of process and supply variations.

2. Description of the Related Art

A phase shifter circuit can find wide applications in instrumentation, measurement, communication, and control systems. The literature shows different types of phase shifters, which include frequency-dependent, frequency-independent, and auto-tuning phase shifters. The frequency-dependent phase shifter circuit provides fixed or variable phase shift at a single frequency. On the other hand, a frequency independent phase shifter provides a fixed phase shift over a wide range of frequency. Auto-tuning phase shifter's main application is related to phase calibration. Automatic phase shifters may be used in a transceiver system to compensate phase mismatching. Vector modulation is one of the common realizations for phase shifters, wherein a variable phase shift may be obtained by adding the outputs of multiphase filters having adjustable amplitudes. However, such a scheme disadvantageously introduces a stringent requirement for a wide range and accurate controllability of the output amplitude of a large number of filters. While numerous other phase shift designs are known, none taken either singly or in combination, are seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.

Thus, a wideband programmable phase shifting circuit solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The wideband programmable phase shifting circuit includes a charge pump, a first comparator, and a voltage reference generator block. The input signal controls the charge pump which charges and discharges a capacitor coupled to an output of the charge pump. The comparator continuously compares the voltage across the capacitor with a reference voltage, ratio of V_(REF), which is generated by the voltage reference generator block. The voltage V_(REF) is generated to compensate for the expected power supply and integration process variations. The voltage reference generator block is comprised of a second charge pump, a frequency divider unit, a plurality of switches, and two capacitors. The adjusted V_(REF) ratio controls the comparator threshold level and hence the phase difference between the input signal of the charge pump and the output signal of the comparator. A CMOS implementation for the invented phase shifting circuit is presented which provides a wide phase shifting over five decades of frequency, 2 KHz-250 MHz, with a minimal phase error, less than 4.7%.

The phase shift circuit can be implemented as an integrated circuit, and can be operated with a power supply delivering as little as 1.2 volts. The number of different phase shifts generated by the inventive circuitry is limited only by the number of resistors at the comparator input.

These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a wideband programmable phase shifting circuit according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plot showing the waveforms at different nodes produced by a wideband programmable phase shifting circuit according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plot showing the waveforms at different nodes of the V_(REF) generator circuit of a wideband programmable phase shifting circuit according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a chart showing the performance of the CMOS phase shift circuit over a wide band of frequencies in a wideband programmable phase shifting circuit according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 are plots showing the voltage waveforms of the CMOS phase shift circuit when adjusted to provide a 45° phase shift in a wideband programmable phase shifting circuit according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a partial schematic diagram showing two inverters in cascade to generate a new reference input signal in a wideband programmable phase shifting circuit according to the present invention.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As shown in FIG. 1, the wideband programmable phase shifting circuitry 10 is comprised of a first charge pump 21, which charges a capacitor C₁ as a V₂ reference input to a comparator 20. A voltage reference generator block 12 provides a reference voltage V_(REF) as input to a chain of resistors in series comprised of resistances 22, 24, 26, and 28. Input voltage V_(i) controls charge pump 21, which charges and alternately, discharges capacitor C₁, which is coupled to the output of charge pump 21.

The comparator 20 continuously compares the voltage across capacitor C₁ with a voltage dependent upon the reference voltage V_(REF), said reference voltage V_(REF) being generated by the voltage reference generator block 12. Charge pump 21 has input pin 1 connected to the input signal V_(i) and input pin 2 connected to complement input signal Vi respectively. To demonstrate the operation of the inventive wideband programmable phase shifting circuitry, consider the following scenario. With V_(i) high (1.2V), output pin 3 of charge pump 21 charges the capacitor C₁ with a constant current.

As shown in plot 200 of FIG. 2, the voltage V_(i) provided at input pin 1 of charge pump 21 is a square wave voltage which swings between a nominal low value and a nominal high value. The charging that occurs at capacitor C₁ is repeated every high half cycle, i.e., when V_(i) is high. In the other half cycle, low V_(i), charge pump unit 1 draws a constant current I₁ from the capacitor C₁, so that both halves combine to form an integration of the square wave input V_(i), hence a triangular waveform signal V₂ (as shown in FIG. 2) is generated across capacitor C₁.

The comparator 21 compares signals V₂ and V₃ and provides high output signal, V_(o), if V₂ exceeds V₃ and low V_(o) if V₂ is smaller than V₃. As a result, the comparator 21 generates an output signal V_(o) having substantially the same waveform of input signal V_(i) but at a predetermined phase φ difference from the input signal V_(i). The switches S₁-S₄ are used to adjust the voltage level V₃, thereby controlling the phase shift φ of output signal voltage V_(o) from input signal voltage V_(i). The comparator 21 also provides the complement of V_(o) at its minus output terminal.

To illustrate the process in further detail, the voltage waveforms at different nodes of FIG. 1 are presented in FIG. 2. Consider the case when switch S₂ and S₄ are on, hence V₃ will be set to ¾ of the reference voltage V_(REF) when the input signal V_(i) is high and will be set to ¼ V_(REF) when V_(i) is low. Thus the phase shift φ can be described by equation (1).

$\begin{matrix} {\varphi = \frac{180{^\circ}\; C_{1}{kV}_{REF}}{\frac{{TI}_{1}}{2}}} & (1) \end{matrix}$

where k is the reference voltage ratio.

The voltage V_(REF) is generated using the reference voltage generator 12. The voltage V_(REF) is generated to compensate for expected power supply and integration process fluctuations. The voltage reference generator is comprised of a second charge pump 16 connected via switch blocks S₅ and S₆, to capacitors C₂ and C₃. A frequency divider 14 has its outputs V₄ and V ₄ connected to the same switch blocks S₅ and S₆. Switch blocks S₅ and S₆ control the amount of charge that can be pumped into capacitors C₂ and C₃ and thus the magnitude of the voltage V_(REF). Switch blocks S₇ and S₈ control the discharging process of the voltages of capacitors C₂ and C₃, and thus the voltage V_(REF) values will be frequent updated. The operational amplifier 18 has a unity gain configuration which is inserted as a buffer to provide the capacitors C₂ and C₃ voltages with good driving capability.

The voltage waveforms shown in plot 300 of FIG. 3 depict the charging, discharging, and utilization period of the voltages across C₂ and C₃. V_(REF) can be obtained by equation (2).

$\begin{matrix} {{{V_{REF} = \frac{I_{1}T}{2\; C}},{where}}{C_{2} = {C_{3} = C}}} & (2) \end{matrix}$

From equations (1) and (2), and with C₁=C, the phase shift φ can be given by:

φ=180° k   (3)

As depicted from equation (3), the phase shift φ is independent of process and supply variations. Moreover, the phase shift value can be selected precisely through a digital word of four bits b₁-b₄, which controls the switches S₁-S₄. The chain of equal resistors 22, 24, 26, and 28 in conjunction with the switches S₁-S₄ is used to provide four different voltage levels for V₃. Consequently seven different phase shifts values, (−45°, −90°, −135°, 45°, 90°, 135°, and 180°), are obtained. More values of phase shift, i.e., a finer resolution, can be obtained by including more resistors in the chain.

Although the phase shifting circuitry of FIG. 1 can be implemented in different technology processes, it has been implemented here as an example in a 0.18 μm CMOS technology to prove functionality and performance of the inventive wideband programmable phase shifting circuitry. The obtained result shows a good agreement between the theoretical and simulated results over wide ranges of phase shift and frequency.

The phase shift error plot 400 shown in FIG. 4 reveals that an error less than 4.7% is obtained over the frequency band of 2 KHz-250 MHz. Plot 500 of FIG. 5 shows the waveforms of V₂, V_(i), and V_(o) at input frequency of 50 MHz and a phase shift of 90°.

In the embodiment shown, the comparator delay is found to be 45 ps, which is a negligible amount of delay for a frequency operation lower than 50 MHz. However, the comparator delay of 45 ps represents a major source for phase shift error in the higher operating frequency range. As shown in FIG. 6, a cascade 600 comprising two CMOS inverters can be used to generate a new reference input signal which is compared with the output signal of the phase shifting circuit, thereby overcoming the comparator delay problem.

In summary, the adjusted V_(REF) ratio controls the comparator threshold level and hence the phase shift difference between the input signal of the charge pump and the output signal of the comparator. A CMOS implementation for the invented phase shifting circuit is presented which provides a wide phase shifting over five decades of frequency, 2 KHz-250 MHz, with a minimal phase error, less than 4.7%.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims. 

1. A wideband programmable phase shifting circuit, comprising: a divide-by-two frequency divider having an input accepting a periodic input signal voltage and having an output that generates a signal having twice the period of the periodic input signal voltage; an amplifier having at least one input connected to the output of the frequency divider, the amplifier generating a reference voltage output; a reference voltage generator charge pump having inputs accepting the periodic input signal voltage and a complement of the periodic input signal voltage, an output of the reference voltage generator charge pump being connected to the at least one input of said amplifier; a comparator having a first input, a second input, and at least one output; a switched voltage divider network connected to the reference voltage output of the amplifier, the switched voltage divider network having an output generating a percentage of the reference voltage, the reference voltage percentage being determined by a switch configuration of the switched voltage divider network, the switched voltage divider network output being connected to the first input of the comparator; and a comparator charge pump having inputs accepting the periodic input signal voltage and a complement of the periodic input signal voltage, an output of the comparator charge pump being connected to the second input of the comparator; wherein the at least one output of the comparator generates a periodic output signal voltage having a phase shift with respect to the periodic input signal voltage, a value of the phase shift being determined by the reference voltage percentage applied to the first input of the comparator.
 2. The wideband programmable phase shifting circuit according to claim 1, wherein the amplifier is an operational amplifier.
 3. The wideband programmable phase shifting circuit according to claim 2, wherein the operational amplifier is configured for unity gain closed loop operation.
 4. The wideband programmable phase shifting circuit according to claim 1, further comprising means for precisely setting the phase shift of the output signal with respect to the input signal.
 5. The wideband programmable phase shifting circuit according to claim 4, further comprising means for providing an arbitrarily large number of phase shift settings of the output signal.
 6. The wideband programmable phase shifting circuit according to claim 1, wherein the phase shift circuit is implemented in an integrated circuit having properties optimized for low power consumption.
 7. The wideband programmable phase shifting circuit according to claim 1, wherein the phase shift circuit is implemented in an integrated circuit having properties optimized for high speed operation. 